4. Under the Maple Tree
"Sister, someone is supporting you for a promotion to Commander. Is that true?"
"Yes, but there are still those who oppose it."
"Tch, even with your incredible abilities, you're already serving as a general. Now they want you to be the Commander? That's just ridiculous..."
"Follow the rules. There's no way a Captain could jump straight to General. Don't talk nonsense," Yue said, taking a sip of her drink.
Jianfeng smiled slightly as he watched her.
"Sister, please cut down on your drinking. You're a woman; it's not good to drink too much."
"You should cut down too."
"Uh, no way. I'm a man, so it's fine, right?"
"It's the same," Yue replied coldly. "Ha... earlier you said you wanted to talk about something. What is it?"
"Well, I want to train Yiran. What do you think? Can I do it?"
Yue poured herself another drink into a small cup.
"He doesn't understand what we're saying. His language is very strange. Teaching him our language will be difficult too."
"That can be done gradually. I'll find someone who can teach him our language."
"You seem interested in someone's talent, huh?"
"His bone structure is good. He suits my martial arts style."
"Mmm... Teaching someone his age martial arts will be difficult, Jianfeng. You and I started learning martial arts when we were very young, and even then, it depended heavily on natural talent."
Jianfeng let out a bitter smile. "And you developed at a terrifying rate. Many gossip that we possess an ancient martial arts manual."
"Ah, only fools say things like that." Yue downed her drink in one gulp.
"Hahaha, as always, you're so blunt, sister. Well, I got permission, right? We have a month during the holiday..."
"Do whatever you want. If you succeed, you truly deserve to be an instructor—teaching a mute person to speak."
"Hahaha, don't say that. That's too cruel. He's not mute; he just has trouble speaking properly."
Yiran woke up earlier than usual, a faint puff of mist escaping his mouth as he mumbled.
"It's been a while since I exercised consistently..."
He started jogging lightly, warming up, and adding a few push-ups.
Aside from his solid punches from boxing training, Yiran also practiced a few Taekwondo moves.
"Ugh, feels stiff. The last time I did this was probably back in high school."
One by one, people started getting busy with their tasks. Yun Zhi, who had just woken up, was getting ready to take a bath.
"You're up really early, Yiran."
(Good morning.)
"Oh, you're training? Haha, your movements look weird..." Yun Zhi smiled as he watched Yiran boxing.
(I hope I can stay sane. We're speaking completely different languages.)
When Yun Zhi returned, Yiran immediately went to bathe. The trip to the bathroom didn't take long.
"...That girl really wastes a lot of water just to bathe," he muttered.
Yiran began drawing water and filling the wooden bathtub to the brim. Then, he enjoyed the coolness of the water as he bathed.
Afterward, he went to the yard to sweep the fallen leaves scattered across the ground and floor.
(I just hope my life doesn't get even more miserable...)
As he noticed a bird's nest atop a tree, he watched a mother bird feeding her two chicks.
Yiran shook his head slightly in irritation as the maple leaves kept falling to the ground. He sighed and resumed sweeping patiently.